Andrewnuva199

Per single pack, yes.

IC: "You get anywhere when I was out?" Andrew muttered to Minerva, rubbing his jaw."Eh... somewhat," she replied. They were both slowly backing away from Zach, who was taking his time edging towards them. "I managed to get through a few times, but it's personally trying to hold him in.""Guess I've gotta give it another-" his words were stopped as Zach fired a blast near his legs, making him jump backwards and stumble around a bit. Zach advanced, pushing Minerva away for the moment."I have to say, I was disappointed to see you go out like that," the Stromling remarked. "And then you come back up and tackle me like nothing's changed. You didn't even do me a favor with Ahua.""Pfft," Andrew instinctively uttered, "you expected me to turn into a dino or something and tear him up in my mind? Me, overtaking a guy like him? You really are deluding yourself.""Perhaps I was," Zach responded as he came charging forward. ANdrew dove to his left, but he was predicted and Zach managed to tackle him in that direction. He pinned the Minifig to the ground and raised his Arm cannon for a melee strike, but Andrew managed to catch it in his hands and hold it up like a bar of weights."It was silly of me," said Zach, pushing his arm down harder, "to expect someone like you to do that, even in his own mind. You're hardly a match for the Malestrom, no matter how many things you build!""Definately not in brute force," Andrew responded, just as he noticed a figure approaching from somewhere behind his emeny. "But I think we're a bit brighter - and somewhat more aware of things."Sensing what Andrew was hinting at, Zach turned and kicked at Minerva, who was trying to sneak up on him with the injection saw once more. He managed to divert the tool and leave her stumbling back, but it left Andrew an opprotunity to punch him in the face and roll out of his grip.He got back up and darted towards Minerva. "Sorry about that one.""It's fine," she said under her breath, though she sounded a little annoyed. "We're getting him dangerously angry, though.""Perhaps, but the more we do get him angry and frustrated, the more likely we can get him-""It won't work and you know it!" Zach cried out, clearly furious as he aimed his gun arm at the pair. "You're going to die, here and now, plain and simple!"Andrew looked at Zach, his old ally and unknowing neigebor, and slowly made himself feel determed in spite of the perilous circumstances. "Maybe so, 'Zach'. But remember that even if we die, the fact that we're doing so 'stupidly' trying to reach your old self, and the more you beat us down only makes us more determined to resist and reach you!""More baseless optmism! That's not going to save Minifigkind when we-""Oh, really? I've heard Semick a couple times on the comn before we ended up down here, he seems to be keeping the team strong against whatever you've been throwing at him! Heck, they're off to the Temple of-wait, do I?" Andrew stuttered as both Minerva and Zach stared at him with odd looks. "Oh, whatever, I have a weird mind. Anyways, the team's resisted your traps and Stromling apes and monkies and whatever else your force's had up your sleve, and hasn't given up hope yet! Agents, good agents, have died today fighting for us all, and they're now done here and heading off to finish the job at the Temple of Creation! And with what you've learned about Ahua over here, all that means for you if you continue to serve the Malestrom, regardless of what happens to the team, you'll die alone in this empty shell of a temple, or worse, be absorbed fully by your 'ally' and suffered some Lovecraftian fate for eterntiy!"Andrew studided Zach's face, but could see nothing but his angry glare holding up, albiet with what looked like a slight flicker in his red eyes. "Simply put, Stromling, either kill us and face your end, or come back to us and let Zachary out again."After a second or two, "Zach" said "... you're all talk, but I say you speak too much of yourself. Minerva, care to counter for your last words?"Andrew turned to the woman who was more involved in this matter than he was. "Sounds like final call. Make it count."

I think they're about as expensive as the LEGO Minifigures, so about $2.99, give or take some half-dollars.

IC: "Why?!" cried Andrew's "dark conciousness." "Why can't you just let us have our fun!? Why CAN'T we just get this over with?!""Because I DON'T want this!" Andrew cried out in reply, struggling futility in his counterpart's grip. "I DON'T want to be a slave to the Malestrom, and neither should you!""Not this stupid Big Bad blahbity blah! What about what we want?! What about change?"Andrew stopped struggling for a second. "Is this all you can think about? Being a lizard man or shark guy or insectoid or gosh knows what? Context, man! Context!""So what?" his "conciousness" said, his voice noticably calming, though his grip on the needle hadn't lowered. "LEGO Island is safe, your Titanic car is safe, what else do you need? Why can't we just forget this whole war and go home?"Andrew listened to his other self and began to guess at what was going on. "All that matters to you, to 'us', is that you want to have the experience of being transformed, isn't it?""Isn't that obvious by now?""Yes, it has been. But the means you're going to want this... to be frank, you're sounding like a child here.""So what if I am?!" said his "conciousness", sounding like he was on the defensive."Well, you are a part of me, somehow, so I'm guessing that might have to do with some base level of instinct or desire. And the way you're being so frank about it, losing that cool and creepyness you had in our first encounter...""...I hate it when that happens." Andrew's "conciousness" lowered the needle, and his grip on Andrew's neck loosened."...basically, I guess what I'm trying to say is that I understand that you're embodying all that we-I want at some level or another. That young person's urge to focus less on what's important to others in favor to what's important to me. It's how I did use to act, so in a way I suppose you are me, a few years younger or something and man, this is sounding more and more nonsencial." Andrew held his hand to his forehead with an annoyed look."Dreams are nonsenical, you know," his other self remarked."But you aren't just in my dreams. You appeared twice-no, three time in my waking hours telling me crpytically about what was to come, and then berating me from turning away from your-my subconcious desires.""I'll be honest, I don't get it either. Nor do I get how we can see the future or present we haven't witnessed in here. I think it might have to do with the way people have dreamed of their own futures in folk legend or something. It's probably some weird part of how the wheels of destiny turn or whatnot." He said the part about the wheels in a mocking tone, gaining a snicker from Andrew.The being then asked "So what's the point of all this?""The point is," said Andrew, "that I understand that I want to be changed at some level or another, but the fact is that its just not practical at the moment. Not just due to the fact the Malestrom is as trustworthy as Dust, but because it isn't the most convient thing to do. Our team may have aliens and other creatures as team members, and people have been turned into or revealed to be dinosaurs, hybrids, dragon people or what have you, but in a genearl sense, it's a bit inconvient to have that suddenly happen to yourself. Friends might be alientated, clothes don't fit right, you make people afraid you might go crazy, and vehicles become alot less comfy."Andrew's "conciousness", other self, or whatever one might want to call it, comprehended his words for a few moments, then sighed, and let go of Andrew completely and threw the needle off into the water still trickling around. "Alright, you win. But do look into the idea at some point, somehow? You know how much this means to us.""I assure you," said Andrew, patting the entity's shoulder with a smirk, "I will."It seemed like a bit of a touching moment, albiet a very weird one even by Dino Attack standards, but it was soon broken as a horrible sound came from the shadows. It was like the screah of some monsterous bird mixed with the howl of a wolf, the scream of a crowd of zombies, and the rush of the wind all mixed into one.And then the shadows came rushing in, seeming to finally break the resistance of the water and the brick wall."Oh dear," Andrew muttered, looking at his other self. "Any-?"The entity pointed to the What's Occuring? book still in the Fire Hammer. With a nod of understanding, Andrew climbed back inside and reached for it, finally managing to open its cover.Inside was not a huge window, but simply a small picture, not unlike the picture from the book in Andrew's dream about the cave. Shown in the picture was the chamber he and Minerva had found Zach and Ahua.Glancing one last time to see the shadows closing in the vehcile and hear his "dark" conciousness cry "Get on with it!", Andrew slammed his hand on the picture, felt himself feel like he was being sucked into the book with a whoosing sound, and everything went black.And then he woke up with a jolt.His eyes opened to see the ceiling of the chamber. Quickly sitting up, he spotted Zach and Minerva not too far from his lower right side, Minerva weilding an injection saw, Zach his Cosmotronic Ray arm. The latter was charging at the former.Without thinking, or recalling the Stroming that was trying to convert him standing somewhere near him, he pushed himself onto his feet and ran towards his former ally.

That would be a "yes."

An interesting tibet. I picked up that TRU-exclusive 12 pack of the blind bag ponies a few weeks ago (rather satisfied with it, I've had two Atlantis Minifigs recoiling in horror sitting nearby as well), and I did notice that the tradional blind bag ponies are readily available there by now as well. I even saw a box of them sitting near a LEGO Minifigures box at the front help desk.So if those things are good enough for you, go ahead and spend some money at Toys R Us that isn't LEGO sets being charged slightly extra because of what I call the "Toys R Us Tax" (though the blind bags might be under the tax too, I won't know until I spot the things at a Target or Wall Mart).

IC: Andrew was worried. This shadow of Malestrom was closing in on this imaginary library. If he didn't figure out something soon, it was very likley he was going to end up just like Zach... or possibly worse.He moved backwards slowly. Eventually his back came into contact with the bookshelf. In a sudden bout of curoisity, he turned to look behind him, his eyes drawn to the books.He skimmed the titles. Some were familar to him as books he had read or heard of: Tale of Two Cities, 882 1/2 Amazing Answers to Your Questions About the Titanic, Harry Potter, I, Jedi. Some seemed to refer to things he knew a great deal about: LEGO Island, The Art of Creation, Tales of Change, A Brief History of the Dino Attack. And some seemed to be part of this mysterious realm of dreams he still didin't understand: Predicting the Future, The Secrets Within the Words, What's Occuring?, The Great Pony Invasion.The titles started to look like a sign of something. All these "books" regarding things related to him and his situation, all piled up in a library inside his head? It was sounding like some weird self-referal wish-fufillment dream or something. Unless it was truely indicating...Andrew came to revelation of a conclusion: this library wasn't merely another strange dream realm, this was a visual version of his mind!"That seems rather fitting, actually," Andrew muttered aloud.Looking to his surroundings again, Andrew was alarmed to see that the darkness was now surrounding him in a much smaller, several yard long radius. He was running out of time.C'mon, think! Andrew thought. If this is my own mind, that has to mean I'm not just a minifigure bound to the laws of nature here! I should be able to do something with these surroundings!Reaching blindly, he grabbed one of the books off the shelf and opened it to a random page. Looking inside, he was suprised to see, instead of words, a large, 2-page spread image of a white hallway that looked like part of some kind of fancy hotel. Andrew was suprised, but not impressed, and was about to close it when he heard a large rush of water coming from somewhere. He looked around him, seeing only darkness before returning his attention to book. Which was when he saw water rushing down the hallway and towards "him."Andrew could feel a few small droplets of water coming at his face, giving him just enough warning to let go of the book. It fell to the ground just as the water erupted out of the window like a fountain only just cleared of a blockage. He was thrown back against the shelf, the impact of him and the water making it tip over backwards. It impacted at an angle, and Andrew could hear what sounded like another shelf tipping over. And another. And another. And soon it was clear that a domino effect was in place.The water rushed in all directions, going towards the shadows down the aisle Andrew was in. Managing to get a grip on the downed shelf as the water passed by him in a current. Looking towards the enclosing darkness, he was suprised to see that the shadow was beginning to lessen as the water rushed towards it, retracting even. The LEGO Islander's eyes gleamed.He looked back at his shelf, and began pulling out some of the books he had seen just before. He opened The Art of Creation, and a flow of flying LEGO bricks came out in a column streching up and pushing back at the shadows above. Andrew thought brifely that it might help to have some kind of walls aganist this stuff, and within moments, the flow of red, yellow, blue, black and white bricks began to spread across the darkness, slowly forming into a 2-stud thick wall all the way from the top of the column to the edges, like a giant rainbow-colored dome.He then turned his attention to A Brief History of Dino Attack, and upon opening saw a Fire Hammer within the window, driving straight towards him. Throwing it away from him, the vehicle drove out of the book and into the air, appearing small as it emerged, but then quickly growing as it began to reach the vehicle's usual size. After staying in the air for a few seconds, it landed on the fallen shelves with a loud creak! as the tires hit the wood.Andrew darted towards it, a few other books still under his arms, and opened the driver's side door. He climbed in, spotting the laser rifle he most frequently used sitting on the passenger's seat. The site calmed him, satisfying him more that he was gaining his ground back.Glancing back at the brick wall that was still forming around him, he could see that the Malestrom was still pushing through despite the water flow and the bricks. Clearly there was still some things left to do.Andrew glanced at the books he had brought with him. A Tale of Two Cities wasn't going to be of much use in these circumstances. What's Occuring looked promising, but for some reason Andrew couldn't get it to open. The Great Pony Invasion sounded like a helpful advantage, but frankly it sounded like something he didn't want to mess with, even for his own salvation.He was about to open I, Jedi when he saw something in the corner of his eye. He looked back out of the Fire Hammer to see the steamers of shadow reaching down again. Tossing the book aside and grabbing his laser rifle, Andrew took aim and prepared to fire at whatever appeared.The streamers touched down just feet from his vehicle, and began to take a Minifig form. As it began to solidify, Andrew fired. Several times.Holes appeared in the figure's form, but they were quickly closed. Andrew groaned as the figure began to take on a reconizable appearance, and was suprised not to see Ahua or some other kind of Stroming, but "himself.""No! This isn't how it should go!" cried his "dark conciousness." "This isn't how it ends!"Before Andrew could react, the figure grabbed his arms and pulled him out of the vehicle. He lost his grip on his rifle as he fell, but before he could make a grab for it, he felt his "conciousness" grab him by the neck and pull him towards the side of the Fire Hammer.Andrew's "other self" looked at him with mad red eyes. "It's time we end this," he said, pulling out a familar needle from somewhere around his belt. "But first, I think we need to get a few last thing across."

OOC: Yeah, sorry about that vanishing act. Got a bit tied down with things and didn't really feel like posting for a while. Better get things tidied up a bit quickly, espically considering the circumstances.And oh wow, TakanuvaC01 returned before I did. I'm trying not to see that as a metaphor.IC: Bluetooth's eyes widened in horror, and he could hear the rear gunner emit an audiable gasp.The messages coming in were a shocking revelation. All this effort and sacrifice, all for a classic red herring trap? It was horrifying, disheartneing, and reminded him all too much of previous missions' downturns.He turned to Semick. He was sitting still for a moment, processing the message, then, with firece quickness, he grabbed his mic and began making more talk, to both Dino Attack and the remaining ADU forces."If you haven't heard already, I'll let you know. We've been mislead. This temple has been a diversion to divert our attention. As such, all of you must make immediate efforts to reach the Temple of Imagination. I know we've been fighting hard and lost good allies, but we must focus on the battle that remains. Elite Agent Rex and several other trusted agents are there now, and are likely in great peril. It's up to us to save them. To save ourselves. To save our planet."Bluetooth could begin to hear a sense of anger coming from his commanding agent. Anger from the frustration and strain this role was clearly putting on him. It made him a bit fearful, actually. "The emeny has mislead us, and I say it's time we see to it that both the Malestrom AND Dr. Rex's XERRD buddies that they don't want to see us when we're reacting to being tricked for the upteenth time at such a crucial moment! Everyone to the Temple of Imagination! For Rex! For Dino Attack! For everything and everyone you care for! For all the LEGO Planet!"And they were quickly off, the T-1 turning firecely, charging through the remaining Mutant Pterosaurs as Semick set his sight on the direction of the second temple. And as he did so, he opened communications again, this time trying to reach Dust's team. "Dust, this is Semick. What is your team's status?"There was a pause, and after a few seconds, Semick asked again. "Dust, this is Semick. What-""This is Dr. Cyborg speaking," said the voice of someone other than Dust. "I'm sorry to report tha-""I understand," said Semick. "But please, Dr. Cyborg, tell me what happened down there. And make it quick, if you can."---------------"You heard the man, all of you, GO!" Rockford cried as his Fire Hammer's driver sped through the remaining Dino Attack vehicles and Mutant Dino forces.Fortunately, it seemed that the vehicles were responding. Some were reporting to stay behind, mostly to defend wounded and inspect what could be done with the downed vehicles (paticularily the Renaissance, some of the techy agents were quite bemoaning about losing it), but the bulk of their forces were quickly turning tail, fighting through the Mutant Dino forces back to the path they had taken from the outposts.Rockford observed with awe and respect as he watched the agents under "his" partial leadership. One Iron Predator had swung its cannon at a Mutant Raptor trying to charge it like a bat, sending it flying as it sped off. An agent in what looked like a racing helmet was speeding a Steel Sprinter over and through Mutant Lizards like a weaver through cloth. One of the remaining T-1 Typhoon was even keeping watch as an Urban Predator kept coming up on emenies, which seemed to imply the vehicles were being used by close buddies.The sights made Rockford grin. Even as the odds were appearing to get more and more against hin, he couldn't help but feel optmistic that the Malestrom was truely picking the wrong fight."Seems odd that we haven't heard that Zach guy lately," said the driver. "I'd figure he'd be giving another one of those annoying loud mocking rants by now, given the relative sucess of their trickery.""Perhaps he occupied," suggested Laxus. "Maybe something... or someone... has caught up to him and is handling him right now."Maybe," said the driver with a disbelieveing chuckle. "Sounds like a pretty suicidal move to me, in my opinion."---------------Andrew suddenly jerked up, realizing that he had been drifting off again.He shook his head, quicking trying to reasses what he was doing. He was sitting at a table, an open book sitting right in front of him. Directly around him, several different books were placed around him. And surrounding his table, which was part of a long row of tables, was two quite tall, very long bookselves, both filled ot the brim. They streched far off into the distance into blackness.Now what was he doing... oh, yes. He had gone off to the Library to look up a few books for a report he needed to do on Oscar...Andrew raised his hand to his fore head. That wasn't sounding right. There was something else, something more important, something to do with..."Malestrom!" He suddenly blurted out. And the memories of an Egyptian temple, sevearl agents, a long fall, Minerva, mentions of YTP, and Zach came rushing back to him."Fully recovered yet?" Said a familar voice, in more ways than one.Andrew looked behind him to see Semick standing behind him, leaning on the book shelf. But it wasn't Semick. Andrew knew in his gut, and didn't need his oddly red eyes to tell him so, though they helped drive the point home for sure."Ugh... how long has it been," Andrew asked."A week. Or a second. Or something. Time is weird in dream, ya know.""Yeah, yeah." Andrew got up out of his seat. He sighed. "So where is that guy? Figure he's either setting up a trap or coming here to beat me up and then throw me in a mental prisom or something silly.""Oh, he's here," said his conciousness. "He's all around us in fact. Playing 'scary nonminifigoid entity' right now.""Euh..." Andrew seemed lost. He looked around. He couldn't see anything. All there was was the table, the selves, and the shadows surrounding the edges of every-Oh."Interesting choice, I must admit," Andrew's conciousness said. "Reminds me of a good TV show we'll end up watching in a couple of years. Oh, that'll be fun. The place will be full of blue boxes and small oddly-colored horses all flying around in sillyness.""I'll ask later." Andrew stared at that darkness, observing now a slight purple tint. "Well?" He cried out. "Can we get this over with? I'm kinda busy with someing back in the temple, ya know.""Ooooh, what's the rush?" said his other "self." "I'm sure Minerva's got Zach okay. This is mostly her task, redeeming her lover and all that, right? And sure, the rest of the DA team's gotta rush off to the Temple of Creation to save the planet and all that, but I'm sure they can handle it. They've gotten along quite well without us for most of the-""Quiet, you.""Yes, we do have to get a move on, don't we?" said the chilling voice Andrew recalled hearing just before getting knocked out. Its aura of menace russled Andrew's goosebumps up a bit, but he did his best to ignore it. From above, the shadows seemed to pull down like May Day streamers, forming together quickly to take the shape of the Stromling Islander Zach had been with."So..." Andrew muttered as he felt some slight fringes of fear from this being, paticularily its eyes. "I don't believe we were properly introduced. You are...?""Ahua. And don't get the wrong idea, it's I who am the one on top here, not Zach. I was the one who even helped to make him see the light. In a figure of speech, of course. And I don't think it will be hard to do the same for you, either.""... Maybe, but let me say this much, Ahua. I think I'm a bit more different from Zach."The being laughed with amusement. It was still as chilling as its more evil laugh from before. "Maybe so. You think more creatively than him, I will say. And you're optimistic about alot of things, almost blindly so. You certainly know alot as well. And you're also quite stubborn at times. But..."The Stromling glared at Andrew's conciousness. "... this seems like an interesting difference. Your other self here, which seems like a good enough term for it, embodies the one trait, the one desire that I find rather amusing. You've privately wanted to seek us out to use for sufficing your own private desires, while Zach, right to the end, fought futility against the idea of trying to assoicate himself with us. And that worked out well for him, didn't it?" It laughed again.Andrew opened his mouth to say something, but it was his "dark conciousness" that gave the next line. "It did indeed. The Malestrom, for all its goal for chaos and deconstruction and disharmony (oh, I enjoy sneaking those references in!), is beautifull in its creativity with creature design. Think of it, from priate captains with arm-mounted anchors, to giant spider creatures, to possessing large-scale vehicles! It's magnificent."The figure began to shimmer, his form seeming to blur to Andrew's eyes, and within moments, he felt like he was reliving the first dream, the one that ended with the rainy night at the LEGO City police station, as he saw an exact copy of himself standing in "Semick's" place."I, for one, welcome our new Malestrom overlords. If that's what it takes to bring us change at last."Ahua grined an evil grin, one that reminded Andrew of some of the more disturbing pictures he had seen online over the years. "I wholeheartedly welcome that offer. But first..." he turned to the LEGO Islander. "... We have to get yourself fully open to the idea."The steamers came down from the shadows again, pulling both Ahua and his "dark conciousness" upwards. Andrew could fell it, somehow. He could feel, somewhere around his heart, something sickly and dark blooming, like a chest wound's infection now working its works.Looking up again, he began to see the shadows around him moving. Moving, closing in, slowly making the visible parts of the library he was in smaller and smaller.He knew he had to stay out of the shadows. Less it be the end of himself as he knew himself. But how was going to be the question of the hour.

IC: Andrew stared at the being in front of him with intimidation and a hint of fear, but he did his best to put up a front calm. He was just as tired of this Malestrom business as he was still afraid of it, and he knew that just talking to Zach wouldn't be how he would get him back yet. All he could do now was give a few choice words."The Stormling formally known as Zach," he began, "me and Minerva have decided to risk it all to get inside a temple serving as the focal point of your energies, have persuaded our allies to leave us alone, luckily gotten seperated from our crew leaving us to wander into here, and have done all of those arguably stupd things, just to see if we could reclaim your former self. Call it devotion to your cause, call it arrogant stupidity that 'makes us destined to fail'(Andrew motioned air quotes to this), but the point is that we've done everything soley for your sake, because you've gotten into this position by your true self telling us there's still a chance, and because we have sympathy for your position due to me feeling like you're my mirrior opposite and I take horror and pity in that, and Minerva because..."He looked towards his ally. "Can I be frank about my opinion, Minerva?"Minerva was still a little disraught from Zach's lashings, but she took a moment to gulp and nod her head."Okay. And Minerva because you two seem to have shared affection for one another. Perhaps even love. I believe you've thought of that?"Minerva blushed a little, while Zach shot his head back in a little bit of suprise. Andrew guessed that he might've hit a sensitive spot, because the gleam of fury quickly returned to his red eyes. He aimed his Cosmotronic Ray arm at the Dino Attack agent's stomach."How perceptive for you to think that. But regarding that... rash... bit of judgement, I assume from your little speech there that you're declining our offer once more?"Sweat was beginning to appear on his forehead, but Andrew remained stern and defiant as he said "Yes." As Zach began to react to his words, sudden thoughts in his mind suddenly gave him a sharp pang of pain in the head. He grimmanced and instinctively put his hand up to it.What are you doing?! Letting yourself die just because you don't trust the distributor!?Shut. UP, Andrew told "himself", and let his eyes wander to the well-built Islander Stromling behind Zach. It had raised its eyebrow and stared at Zach. Zach stared back with confusion, then looked back at Andrew with a rather sly grin.I guess you heard that, didn't you? Andrew thougth in his mind.Eeyup, said Zach's voice inside his mind.What, no knocking first? How rude.Well, I would've invited him in.Andrew glanced back at Minerva, who was now staring at the three figures with confusion and worry."Euh, don't worry about it Minerva," Andrew said aloud. "We're just having a pleasent little mental conversatio-ERRAGH!"Something felt like it was stabbing through his forehead and jabbing into his brain. The recoil from such a mental blast knocked Andrew off his feet and onto his back. His eyes, shut tight from the reaction, saw the little light passing through his eyelids suddenly darken.Ach... what is this, guys, some kind of Malestrom gang-This..., said a voice that appeared to talk with authority and a hint of aura of menance, ...other voice of yours... seems to speak contrary to what you say aloud. I think you aren't telling us everything.What, that? It's just my "dark conciousness" that likes to think the black and grey morality thought about how I should handle my desires. Don't we all have that?But with such strength... and percistance... it seems to be more than meets the eye.Oh, you.Andrew felt annoyed that his mind was being treated like some dimmly-lit bar at night, but he kept focused on the conversation at hand. Oh alright, it has somehow managed to tell me things I wouldn't know otherwise, but I don't have an explanation for that. But I'm willing to blame faith or something. I dunno, I haven't thought much of it lately.We are the same, him and I. I just happened to speak our mind and heart bluntly, and have a few ways of guessing how things work.Geeze, with prose like that, I should be a poet or something after the war.Only if you think you could survive this encounter, said the other voice, which Andrew was guessing to be either the Malestrom itself or the Islander guy who had been in the room before. Which you won't.We'll see... about THAT.Heh heh heh. I like this guy. He makes victory just much more entertaining.Okay, do you get it yet, Mr. "Dark Conciousness?" These guys are evil and should not be worked with.They're also as cocky and overconfident and lax as every other villian in stories where the bad guy loses. I hardly fear them.You might.Exactly! WE don't fear them! This'll be easy. The Islander/Malestrom voice laughed again, this time with the intimidating deep dark one Andrew had always had a little problem with.So we shall see.Andrew then felt himself feeling alot more tired, and he began to see where this was going. As he felt himself loose conciousness, he managed think Okay, okay, but if we're doing this, let Minerva know what's happening, and that I have fate that she'll be able to handle what happens nex...OOC: Yeah, I managed to try and squeeze in a bit more of my personal drama into this. Brikman, if you feel this might interfere with your plans, let me say that if your ideas also start to involve the mind, I think I can work that into things.EDIT: Added some variations to the mind talking scene. Rather cheap method, but I think it helps to clarify things.

We are the bronies. You will be assimilated. Resistance is futile.He said he was a fan, now he isn't for whatever reason. So s/he's more like Seven of Nine. In terms of backstory, I mean.

Some of you guys talking about a Phoenix Wright/MLP video series? I saw that, took a little notice of it. Not too much though, I wasn't quite interested by it.I found the concept of voice odd, I appreciate them wanting to practice voice talent, but from what I've seen, the Ace Attorney games don't use voice acting, so I find it a little distracting. I'd be fine with the constant "beepbeepbeepbeepbeepbeepbeepbeepbeep" they normally use, honestly.

IC: "Oh you crafty little monsters," Semick muttered as he watched the Talon go through a most peculiar transformation. Without hesitation, he flipped on the mic for the upteenth time. At this point, he needed to start leaving the thing on."All aircraft divert your attention to a freshly corrupted T-1 in the air! The agents not corrputed that are piloting it have bailed out, so don't hesitate to throw everything you have! And it may have inherited some of the Malestrom's regenerative energies, but remember the weak spots of every helicopter: the blades, the guns, and the cockpits! Focus on those, and keep manuvering well, and we'll get this taken care of quickly and efficiently!"Semick then diverted his attention back to the Renaissance. The darn T-Rexes had managed to bring the crippled craft down, but he still hoped that it could be of use. Rockford's IP crew of mechanics were speeding up to it, firing at the last T-Rex as it went, but it would likely take a full-on trip to a Dino Attack hanger to get it working again. For now, they could only see if they could get it converted to a withstanding makeshift command post.Now there was the matter of how much more aid ADU could offer. "Bluetooth," he said, "get me in contact with the Agents's leader.""Patching you in," the technician said behind him. After a few seconds of comn buzzing, he heard a voice at the other end. "This is ADO Captain Osprey, is thisElit-""Cut the formalities, Ospery. Can you tell me if ADU has any more squads on standby? And how long it would take for them to arrive?"------------"I don't like being sitting ducks down here," the Fire Hammer driver muttered as Rockford's vehicle steered through the mob and over another Mutant Lizard."Well, it's not like we had designed these vehicles for military assult," said Rockford."Yeah, yeah. You got a plan?""Well, with the current support from the natives, I think we can afford to divert our attention from the dinos long enough for this." He flipped on the mic. "Any IPs and FHs that aren't occupied with emeny fire, divert your attention to the corrupted T-1! You all heard Semick, so aim for the weak spots! Your targeting systems were built for a reason, you know!""Sounds like a command any guy would make," remarked the driver."Rockford is a normal guy," Laxus reminded them."Just a normal lawyer thrown into a battle zone," Rockford concurred. "What else is new?"------------Andrew was still a little suprised at what had happened, but he didn't waste any time trying to confort Minerva. Glancing around to make sure no Stormlings were coming yet, he leaned down to her side."Don't worry, I understand completely. You know what I just said, the Malestrom is going to try and persuade us to do unscrupulous things. The fact that you did resist at the last moment there shows that you have enough sense to resist. Just keep what I said in mind, and we'll get through this.""Yes, but..." Minerva said, still obivously distressed. "...the Malestrom has so many choice words. Espically about you."What do... oh, right," said Andrew, recalling his conversation with voices just a few minutes ago. "Listen, I know that you; might be convinced to be unsure of me. I can get that way myself. But I assure you that I understand that the Malestrom is nothing for me to mess with, let alone try to use. Besides, I think trying to... eh, what's a good word... alter myself would be of poor practical use at this time. Even if some agents have spent time being non-minifig with generally good results, I find personally that that wouldn't be the best idea. Trust me, I am not stupid, despite some of my more unlogical actions."Minerva snickered a bit. "Yeah... you don't really want to... you know?""No. Not now, and perhaps not ever. At least, not until the end of all this planet-threathening madness. I'm solely focused on saving Zach, stopping the Malestrom, and kicking Dr Rex's scaled behind. Now shall we get to working on that?""Yeah, we should," said Minerva, who began to get up. "Just... I don't want to-""Just keep my suggestions in mind, remember that the Malestrom is solely out to do us in and turn this planet into another Crux, and have some faith in me." Andrew glanced back at the area they had been about to cross. "Now, how do we bypass this trap? Has it stopped working after one go, or do we need to find a way to deactivate it?"

IC: "Agents, both Dino Attack and ADU, keep it up! While I can confirm that T-1s and ADU aircraft are being hijacked, we are NOT going to let this go easily! Keep your defences up, and continue to aid your companions, and we'll get through this yet! Also, watch your fire! Islanders and the local dino population is now providing aid! We're doing good, men! Don't let yourselves fall now!"Semick turned off the mic, and took a deep breath. This battle was going about average, but things were looking towards victory. All that mattered now was keeping effort up and watching themselves. The Renaissance was making for emergency measures regarding their damages, and Semick had gotten Rockford to send some mechincal-based agents to help provide support whenever the vessel might require landing.The aircraft hijacking still concerned him. With all the chaos, they still hadn't determined how the enemy was hijacking them. All he could get his remaming T-1s and the ADU men to do was keep their distance from the Pterosaurs. That seemed to be the main correlation.He was still concerned about a few things. He hadn't heard of anything regarding the XERRD scientists that had been said to escape the fortress assult. He could only assume they were waiting to strike somewhere, were thinking this wasn't a battle worth their participation (due to the way the Malestrom seemed to be operating independently instead of specifically helping Dr. Rex's intentions), or were busy somewhere else. Semick knew for a fact that Rex still hadn't come back from his investigation of the Imagination Temple.The other regard was progress. He needed some more info on how well Dust's team was doing. With that, he turned on the mic and narrowed down his frequency."Rockford, call up Dust when you can. Tell him I personally want a status update.""Understood."Semick switched off the mic again and returned his attention to the air. "Bluetooth," he asked, "how many crafts are we down to?""Discounting the Renaissance and us, we still have control of five T-1s. There's about 8 or so ADU crafts still flying, but I'm trying to see if they have any more waves on their way.""Good. Keep your watch, but keep your pistol ready as well. I don't want any distractions if we find a hijacker on board. Oh, and let that Agents leader know that he's not cleared to shoot down the Talon until either I or Hotwire give clearance. That agent may be on a peg leg, but if his men are corrupted, he's bound to have a few ideas left. And so do I.""Uh... okay," Bluetooth said, looking a little nervous. "So what ideas do you have.""You'll see," he said as he began flying towards the Talon. Opening the comn again, he said "Hotwire, if you can hear this, try for the 'Bank-In-Finance-Trouble' method."-----------The purple mist gave Andrew chills as he and Minerva continued walking into the mist. He held his laser rifle with anxiousness. Now, more than ever, they would likely be tested.Indeed we will, a thought said in his mind. Andrew's eyes widened.Long time, no chat, he thought back.It's been a while, the voice thought back.Tell me you aren't the Malestrom possessing me.Now, now, that would be a cliche and easy way of explaining it, wouldn't it?Good. Because I'm not taking anything this purple stuff wants to tell me.Or so you think.True. So what now, Mr. "Dark Conciousness?"I'm only wondering why you've given up your ideas?Have you read the Andrew Daily? The Zach story should tell you everything you need to know.But it can be controlled, you know. All it takes is the right mind with the right methods to make all the difference in the world.Andrew thought about this for a second, but immediately dismissed it. Forget it, I don't do bets. Though I have been wanting to visit the Inventory some day...Oh, what? Don't tell me you're giving up! Think of all the pleasure this has brought us!Don't get me wrong, it sounds nice and all, but risking becoming a pawn to an entity who wants to throw everything into discord for the lulz that drastically alters people's mindsets in disturbing and somewhat humorous ways is not something I want to be a fan of. End of story.U See What I Did Thar?But-Shut up, Andrew thought, and turned back to Minerva, who was watching the wound on her hand closely. He figured that she had been hearing voices too, though not the kind Andrew was mostly dealing with. She most likely just had the problem of hearing the Malestrom try to convince her to join them. Perhaps even telling her that was how to reach Zach or something."You doing okay mentally?" he asked."You mean the voices?" Minerva asked. "It's... unnerving, but I'm doing alright. They do seem to cast some measures of doubt, though.""They do that alot. I'm no expert on hearing voices, but I think I have some understanding on what to do.""What's that?"Andrew leaned his rifle on his right shoulder. "Remain stubborn. Listen to them to see what info you can gather, but hold your ground like you would when having an arguement online on a political website. Don't give them any ground or leverage that they can twist around. And there's the YTP method.""YTP method?" Minerva asked with an eyebrow raise?"That's when you think of random bits from music, movies, books, commercials, reality all at once, mashing them up like you're smashing a potato. Think of loud, incoherant, inconsistent noises and visuals and think of them in random patterns or phases. The louder and dumber, the better. Like online spam teaming up to create its own firewall from spamblockers."Minerva smirked. "I'll keep that in mind. How much farther do you think this will go?""Dunno. This is probably something that wasn't in the original construction, so Dust's blueprints are useless here. I guess we can only follow the path to somewhere. If we encounter any forks, I say we stick together and explore as much as we can.""Is that a good idea?""I dunno, but its how I beat puzzle games."

Part of me would really like to see this happen, but I have to hold myself back practically. Not just because of the liscencing issues, but whether or not LEGO ponies would really be wanted by the community.There's an inordinate amount of bronies out there, but I don't know how many of them are AFOLs or TFOLs, which seem like the primary amount of people participating in Cuusoo. We see pony-related models pop up here and there (mostly mosaics or digital models), but there's no real indication that there's enough of both fandoms to support this project.But this could work. Here and there is some projects getting some good fuel on the site from more niche fandoms (EVE Online and Ghost in the Shell projects are in the top six supported!) Cuusoo followers know about the success story recently that was one of Shaun of the Dead's actors appearing on Conan O'Brien's show, talking about and encouraging people to support a SotD project, and the remaining 8,000 supporters needed for the project were nabbed in a matter of hours. The fact that if the message can be broadcasted strong enough, enough people from all walks of internet can flock down and do something like this gives hope.All this project needs is the right publicity in the right place. Hypotheically, if some of the big-name sites Do NOT mention sites that contain inappropriate content. -B6 could start tooting their horns, we could have this project under the approval process within days, maybe less.And about the liscencing, I guess that hangs on whether or not any of the other lisceneced projects can get approved. As of now, seeing if both LEGO and the film's owners are cool with the Shaun of the Dead set idea is one of the big challenges for Cuusoo at the moment.

There's been alot of debates about various factors about the sinking that people seem to like blaiming the tradgedy on. There's Bruce Ismay's decisions about the number of lifeboats, there's the compositon of the metal in the rivets and hull, there's the way the iceberg was formed, how the expansion joints added to the breakup process, the training and actions of the crew, etc.I've been a Titanic buff for about nine years now, and I've learned to not focus too seriously on how and why the ship sank, only that it did, and there's nothing really worth doing about trying to nail it down exactly. We'll never know what exactly happened. We can only follow one theory or another and continue to focus on the tradegy itself and how the events leading up to the final plunge played out.

OOC: If it's not rude saying, or not too late, and if this one website PeabodySam and I are both on is accurate, today has been PeabodySam's birthday! Happy birthday, buddy! I would've made a commerative photo, but I still lack a camera for use in real life.How long have you been kicking now, 104 years or something? Regardless, I hope you had a good day. They'd mostly likely be in the air, if they were pilots. Feel free to write in them being present in T-1s.IC post later.

Is he concerned about your mascuality or something? I guess in some people it would be understandable, but it's not a good sign if he gets visibly upset over it. No offence to your father, but that usually isn't a thing one wants to see happen.

IC: Rockford was in shock. Not a good state to be in considering the circumstances, but it was understandable. Not everyone saw a close ally willingly let themselves die like that in such an extraordinairy way. And with such suddenness, too.However, his remaining allies weren't letting him stay like this, so as much as Rockford kept replaying Mur's last nod over and over on his mind's replay screen, he couldn't help but here the mumurs of the people talking to him."...Rockford... Rockford... Rockford, c'mon, snap out of it!"The image in his mind faded as Rockford saw the face of a Martian staring down at him, dragging him along the ground."Laxus, I...""Don't say anything, just keep in the moment, we're getting you to another vehicle. And we still need your help."Looking around behind Laxus's arms, he saw that a Fire Hammer was pulled up nearby. Two agents were inside, and another was on the Xenon cannon."Semick's on my radio comn, Laxus," said the driver. "He wants to talk to Rockford.""You think you can do that, sir?" Laxus asked."I... yes, I can." He began to push himself onto his feet, and Laxus helped him along the way to get to the front passenger seat of the Fire Hammer."Here's the mic," the driver said as Rockford got into the seat. "I'll get us going, Zach sent our classic foes on us.""Assuming they don't have extra suprisies," Laxus said as they climbed into the back, "taking on Dinos and hybrids should be a relief after all the Malestrom business.""Still going to be a toughie," muttered the other agent in the back. Rockford put his concerns aside and talked into the mic. "Semick?""Present. You're still shocked, I think?""Yeah. I've only been doing command jobs at the outposts so far, haven't really gotten to see any agents do anything like...""You get used to it... somewhat. Never easy to see good men like that pull the ultimate sacrifice. And always in their prime. All we can do is ensure their actions were not for naught.""Agreed. So... I guess I get his job now?" "Afraid so. You up for it?"Rockford glanced at the battlefield. The Mutant Dinos were already pouring in, and the guns and lasers were blazing yet again. It was like all the big battles he had read the reports about. The Goo Caverns, various city standoffs, LEGO Studios, Mount Bricklake, etc. And it was time for him to play commander."Always did reasonably well at Risk, so..." he remarked."Good. Team frequency's up two notches.""Understood," he said, and with a glance at his current crew, he switched to the all-agent frequency. "Alright men, we've got our familar foes again, and all the ways we've bested them. Let's not let Mur down..."

OOC: If it helps, I did foreshadow Mur's device beforehand with a few subtle references about his wonders of doing things with one arm.IC: That isn't going to work anymore, Rockford told himself in reaction to the events that just occured. The attempt to reach Zach through simple talk, the odd device Mur had finally revealed that he had had (at least temporarily), and, probably, the Iron Predator they had been using.A smart man would choose to just abandon the vehicle. No piece of technology was worth one's life, and espically when the thing between one and said technology was a rampaging ape possessed by evil. Rockford was a smart man, as was Mur and the rest of the vehicle's crew. Nearly all of them leaped off, yet Mur stood still, facing the ape with a continued look of disbelief and anger.Rockford wanted to say something, but at this point he realized that if an agent was doing something questionable, that usually meant they had something in mind. So he watched as the ape glanced around with a challenging glance at the fleeing agents, bellowing a roar in victory, and then finally noticing Mur still standing. The creature grinned and snatched him up, raising him up to his face.Mur looked more controlled now, his anger and suprise giving way to a stotic look. A look Rockford knew well from his days in the criminal justice system. That was the look of a person knowing that whatever they were going to say, it was going to cost them or someone else dearly. It was a look of guilt, regret, and resignance. He held this face for a moment.And then he nodded. Not a slow one, or a rapid one like a five year old trying to get across that he wanted a cookie, but a quick one, like a single performance of a headbang.The ape thought he understood, grinned once more, and raised Mur over his head, perhaps to slam him into the side of the Cryothermic Cannon, or throw him into the nearest Fire Hammer. Rockford never found out. At that moment, he had noticed Semick's T-1 still hovering above, its weapons starting to rev into activity. And he noticed that several nearby Fire Hammers were readying theirs as well. It was then that he understood.He ran as the weapons went off. As the machine guns, Sonic Screamers, Voltaic Launcher, Xenon Launchers, and simple laser weapons all went off within seconds of each other, all aimed at Mur's Iron Preadtor. They struck their mark right at the center, where the Stromling Ape was preparing to deal the final blow on Mur.The vehicle went up in flames. Fireballs, orange from the fuel, green from the weapon power systems, enfludged the craft. Small LEGO pieces went flying, while chunks blew off in various directions, barely missing Minifig bystanders. Rockford could feel the heatwave and blast force push him down and mildly scorch his back.The guns didn't stop firing even as the smoke began to disappacitate and clear.OOC: Brikman, I gotta say, realistically Dino Attack would be wanting to focusing fire on Cranky here. And even if the Malestrom is fueling it, I think he has to go down eventually. I mean, T-1 assulting, explosive firepower, and simple combined might has to do it in eventually, am I right?There! I have completed the sacrifice, oh great Brikman! Now can you please rid us of the monster terroizing our non-peaceful LEGO RPG?!I don't mean to be on a personal crusade here. Simply going with the perspective that if I was part of the command of a team, I'd want to take down the biggest and the most dangerous ememies as soon as possible, no matter the odds.

I've been avoiding most spoilers from the finalie, but from what I've heard, it's bound to be interesting. Rumors of clones, secret plans and the return of old emenies is definately making this seem like an interesting wedding. Though i hope someone does tie the knot out of true love. Some optimism still has to be had, right?No one tell me anymore. Let's keep some element of suprise here.

OOC: I dunno if peope are getting mixed up or not, but I believe the Z-1 Kinetic Launcher on the Iron Predator is the little machine gun thing on the side, and the Cryothermic Cannon is the BFG that is the vehicle's signature weapon.IC: Andrew breathed a sigh of relief as again, nothing happened as he stepped on the tile. Looking at the floor, he could definately see a sort of pattern going on with the tiles, at least in terms of what ones were being avoided, and what the crew was stepping on so far. A classic adventure story trick."Is this as easy as it looks, Dust?" He asked who he was calling leader, ignoring the small whispers that were telling him otherwise. Never listen to the voices in your head. It was something Andrew knew well, even if he hadn't always been a follower of that philosophy. "Step on the right tiles, and we'll be fine? Or was this Hotep more ingeneous and clever in how he layed this out?""Don't ask questions, just follow my lead," the Egyptian said."Yes, but we could possibly move quicker if we knew what we were doing. Knowledge is power, after all."---------"Didn't I make that clear, agent?" Rockford muttered as someone screamed about the hijacked IP. Around him, his vehicle was already moving in position to fire at the hijacked vehicle, and another Iron Predator, along with two Fire Hammers, were preparing to do the same."IPs aren't known for their manuverablitiy," Mur was saying, "and that goes for the gun, too! The cockpit is exposed, and we never made it with a need for sheilds in mind! It's a Megablokin' easy target for military forces, so if you men can't take it down, I don't know what will! Fire away!"The cannons and guns began firing, all aimed at the center of the IP, where its infected crew were stationed. The blasts were striking hard, but the smoke from the impact was obscuring the results. Mur was grimmancing, and Rockford could only watch and listen to the comn chatter. He really needed to grab a-"MUR! YOU'VE GOT 8 O'CLOCK COMPANY!" Semick's voice cried through the radio. The two agents in charged turned in said direction to see the Stormling Ape, still shoving off the firepower of Semick's T-1 as it ran towards their vehicle."Znap it all, this is getting ridiculous!" Mur cried as he ran to the edge of the cockpit. "I don't care how much enegry this Malestrom is giving you, you don't just shove off a T-1's assult without consequence!"The Stormling Ape lept at the cockpit, and Rockford began to yell for Mur to get out of the way. But as the ape got within a yard, of the vehicle, Mur swinged his left side where his left arm used to be, and the giant ape flew backwards, backfirst onto the ground. It was like a giant fist had punched it back."KARMA, YOU SON OF A GUN!" Rockford was speechless, as was the crew of the Iron Predator. Mur simply glared at the creature, turned back to his crew and pulled down on his uniform at the neck to show his arm stump. In its place was a small cicular device, buzzing from a small antanee attached to it."Somethin' I was working on with the medical crew. Experimental, supposed to be a more interesting prostetic than robotic limbs and pegs. Long story, I'll explain later. Now get the guns aimed at that thing and let's help Semick wipe that thing out! Sone of a 'blok's been Rasputinin' for far too long!"OOC: It's going a long way just to make a reference (Mur's basically a homage to a series of flash puzzle games called Submachine I've played), and I hope it's not overpowering the character.

OOC: That guy, I may've not said anything, primarily due to me being in another state on vacation and not quite in a position to do much with RPG posting, or just lacking motivation, but I never said I was okay with letting Laxus join the Malestrom temple infltration team. I prefer to think he could be of more use with the main battlefield. So I think I will be manuvering him out of there.Also, I think we're beginning to differ on our views of the team status as a whole, though that may because my writing adrelenine has been fueled by the patriotism I've ammased in myself by writing with Semick far too much.Speaking of which, did you really just name his T-1? Okay...IC: It was perhaps Dino Attack's darkest hour, according to Rockford's perspective. An ammasing of men, women and various other kinds of beings together to fight one of the universe's most powerful entities, currently struggling with ordinarily creatures made horrifyling fierce by said entity.It was a fight that DIno Attack seemed at impossible odds at surviving, let alone besting. But the more Rockford focused on certain aspects, the more he felt confident in the ideals Semick and others had been telling themselves since heading off. Even as one or two found themselves failing to match the brutalitiy of the Malestrom's monkies, others were fighting to near bitter ends to keep them off their vehicles, doing everything in their power to protect themselves and others, less there be no more to stop whatever else was waiting in the woods.And they were doing one heck of a job. In one Urban Avenger, an agent was able lure the monkey trying to pull him off right on top of him... and right in range of the Sonic Screamer on top, which a push of said agent's elbow on the trigger button made blast the monkey right under the wheels of Mur's Iron Predator. In another spot, an agent managed to unveil a sword of some kind, perhaps hinting of a past at Pirate or Castle Cove, and was bashing the monkeys away like flies. In yet another Fire Hammer, guns blazed like crazy as the agents fended off at every monkey within their area, including the ones try to take out other vehicles. And of course, the half-doze T-1s and the Renaissance in the air were doing a good job at providing extra cover fire. The one Rockford thought Semick was on, in paticular, was already moving in to start focusing fire on the Stormling ape that had been harrasing the team thus far.This raised Rockford's spirits, and helped him to concentrate on his work. It meant that Dino Attack was still proving their worth as the LEGO Planet's protectors. At this rate, taking down Dr. Rex would be bakery work by comparison."We're doing good," said Mur as he managed to catch a Stormling monkey trying to leap him, which he managed to stop with a good slap to the head (Rockford could've swore his one arm didn't even touch it, but blamed it on the blur of his movement). "I hope Dust is getting his men into that temple, though. The more he delays, the more he-Oh good, he's doing it."Rockford looked in the direction Mur was looking in. Beyond their IP's firing Cryothermic Cannon, several minifigures were running into now open doors in the temple's front entrance."Get the message out that we're in full CC mode now," Mur told the lawyer. Rockford was already putting the mic to his lips, giving out the coded message he was told to give so any interception of the comn wouldn't fully understand."Alert! The X-Wings are in the trench! I repeat, the X-Wings are in the trench!" Just after he gave the message, Semick came on the radio."Good to hear, Rockford. Now Mur, I just got word from Stranger that we're getting pure Stormlings by the cliffs.""What's the worse news?" Mur said, taking over for Rockford for the moment."They're pulling the Ewok stragedy on us: Overwhem and overtake. Let the IP and FH crews be on alert for up close ambushes. These vehicles can't survive specific attacks like this, so the men will have to watch each other.""Got it," said Mur, handing the mic back to Rockford. "You give the message.""Alert! Pure Stormlings are overwhelming and overtaking IPs and FHs! If you see a vehicle in this state, defend your teammates, and if they take the vehicle, just blow it up!"Though after saying the message, he remarked to Mur, "X-Wings and Ewoks? Great, geeks are writing our code now.""At least it wasn't a Firefly reference," Mur remarked back, confusing Rockford.----------------"Laxus are you sure about this?" Minerva asked Laxus just as Dust was starting to advance in further."You guys need all the help you can get, don't you?" said Lauxs. Though in honesty, he had just decided to go on instinct after Dust's group had started to get overwhelmed with no vehilce support. That, and he hadn't been in his Fire Hammer when the attacks started, so he didn't really have much in terms of cover."I admire your support, but I'll be honest. I don't trust Dust, and the moment me and Andrew can get a chance to get to Zach, we're ditching him. Besides, what we're doing is very dangerous, and we're only doing it because of our... ties to Zach. You don't have any beyond fighting alongside with him, and that doesn't exactly bode well for whatever we might encounter when we face him. I think it's best that you help the others."Laxus looked over the circumstances. The other people going in besides Dust, Minerva and Andrew were the unstable and hard realist Lusky, the Ogel Drone Septimus, whose mental state could mean Malestrom had a hard time getting through to him, and an appearent surfer guy he didn't really know. It did honestly make him look like a bit of an expendable."You're right," he said with a sigh. "Just explain this well to Dust and Andrew, and make sure he knows that I hope the best for him. I really do.""I will," said Minerva. "And watch yourself. It's only slightly safer out there than in here."The martian nodded and ran back out, finding himself only a few yards from the battle sight involving Dr. Cyborg, the Stormling ape, and Zach himself. Seeing a T-1 move in for closer range, he wisely began to head the opposite direction, seeking the cover of the obalisks.-----------------The T-1's machine gun fire had served as ample distraction for the ape and his rider as Semick manuvered his vehicle in for closer shots. He did his best to keep a cool head, but knowing that this was the... thing that was taking quite a bit of glee in pushing his men to their limits was getting his fury up. To calm himself, he did his best to think about who the creature had been... and arguably still was.Zach, Semick thought to himself, oh Zach. You don't know how much I wish you were here below me in the front gunner seat, blasting these monsters into submission. You may currently be some kind of psychopath, but I have a good feeling you're still in there somewhere, giving it all you've got to get your body back and show that "Baron" of yours who's the better one. If by some chance you can hear me, then let me tell you this: I'm sorry for any injuries I lay on you, and keep up the fight in there. I'm rooting for you.As for you, "general"... I'll show you what the price is for breaking our eardrums telling us we're "doomed". "Open fire!" He shouted to the gunner in the front gunner seat, as he prepared to fire every weapon he could personally at the emenies below him.

OOC: We are going through this rather quick, aren't we? *sigh* Of all the times of not being able to be near a computer most of the time over the weekend. Brikman, you're doing a good with writing, because right now I want to stuff a brick into Zach's mouth.It's too late for an IC. I should be able to make a post in... 24 hours or less. Maybe 48. *grumbles*

OOC: Well, Brikman basically just said everything I intended to say about Andrew and Minerva. Even moreso, since I was on the fence about joining Dust or not. I'll at least give an update on my other characters.BTW, my family's heading for Pittsburg for the weekend. I'll keep in online touch, but I probably won't be the most quick to respond to anything until Sunday afternoon, at least.IC: The signal he'd been waiting for came with a loud Pang! Pang! Pang! Bluetooth was shaken to alertness as he scanned his TALON-9 screen.He saw it immediately. Masses of little red dones, lined up in neat little groups, heading right for the clearing the Dino Attack forces had gathered in around the temple. So far, no signs of air support, but the technician knew that could change. Regardless, they had to handle what they had now."Semick-!" he began, but the Elite Agent was already on the move, directing the T-1 towards a better firing angle at the ground below. He was also now giving commands into the radio."Alert! Malestrom forces moving in at the southern edges of the clearing! We've got several dozen mooks and a gorilla! They appear to be going easy on us for now, so takes these guys down and remain vigilant! Dust, get your team into the temple! Renaissance, get on standby! Mur and Rockford, get the IPS and FHs reorganized and ensure protection of the temple! And Talon, get in the air ASAP!"---------------The commotion going on behind him made Rockford immediately redirect his attention from the events unfolding at the Talon. Already the agents that had been ready to fire at its occupants were returing to vehicles or preparing to face the Stormlings head on."Hotwire, Kat," he said quickly to his fellows in conversation, "I'd suggest you get these syntheic-whatevers to use and get the Talon back up in the air. Ole knows we could use the air support." Without stopping to listen, he ran back towards his Iron Predator. The vehicle got into motion the second Rockford was fully inside."So what did they bring us?" Mur asked, his crew beginning to aim the Cyrothermic Cannon towards the incoming enemy troops."Some extra soldiers, that's all you need to know. What's the formation status?""That giant monkey's pushing vehicles aside to let the redshirts in. We have to take him out, and him being so close to our guys isn't making that easy.""Stormling apes are strong, I know that much, but they aren't bulletproof. If we can combine our fire for even the briefest of moments, we shou-""Don't. Jinx. It." The agent at the Z-1 Kinetic Launcher muttered threatheningly to Rockford. He sighed and looked to see what he could do with the radio.-------------Stranger sat quietly in the shadow of an obelisk close to the cliffs. His lizard friend was nearby, playing watch. The way they had planned it, he would provide cover while the Dino Attack agent would get his chance to hunt."Hey, this isn't as boring as it sounds," Stranger had told his companion. "Something's bound to try and stop me, and I think fighting alone's as stupid as it could get." Indeed, the last time Stranger had been in situations like this, he had friends like Titan and the late Raider to help. And when he didn't, the lizard that was by his side now had nearly murdered him.Strange bedfellows indeed, Stranger though humorously. And the current situation was humorous as well. The incoming Stormlings were coming in at a simple and predictable rate. Practically lambs for the slaughter.Mr. Zach, you are not making a good ringleader as of yet, the agent thought as he took aim with his sniper rifle and began firing away. Cut to the main act already.OOC: My cast is both genre savvy and genre blind at times, it seems.EDIT: Oh good, I just saw the picture of the High Voltage Half Track on the wiki, and I SOOO want to build that. Too bad I don't have any Dino Attack sets, so I'm going to have to use other bits of my collection.